Sunday, June 29, 2014

I've made the decision to start a photography website that will allow me to do some things I cannot do with a blog alone. This post will be my attempt to explain what's going to happen in the simplest and briefest way possible because I know not everyone is interested in the technical side of things. If you wish to stay with me at the new site you'll want to read this because I'm leaving Blogger.Right now I have this blog, a separate portfolio, and photo galleries at several different places like Flickr and 500px. Everything is disjointed. My new website will have all of that in one place. I'll have galleries, an integrated blog, and the ability to sell prints, photo books, and products featuring my photos. Everything will be under one roof.I am currently using a custom domain name for this blog. A domain name is the address for a website (also called a URL). A couple of years ago I bought the domain briankingimages.com and began using it as the address for this blog. Blogger allows you to plug in a custom domain to replace the default address of your blog. The original address for this blog is heybjk.blogspot.com and my custom domain is basically masking that. I want to use my domain name for the new website so I will be transferring it to the new place. That means this blog will revert to the default address of heybjk.blogspot.com.I mentioned I am leaving Blogger. The new website has a built-in blog so I will no longer be using this one. I am not going to delete this one, but intend to keep it as an archive. Because I am not going to be using the Blogger platform, it's important to read the following information if you want to keep up with posts at my new blog.When the change becomes effective, briankingimages.com will automatically take you to the new website. If you visit this blog, I'm guessing you already have that address bookmarked or use it in your blog roll. The new website will have a simple menu where you can find the link to my new blog as well as all the other stuff. Here's the really important part...because I will not be using Blogger, you will not be able to follow my new blog using the Friend Connect feature and my new blog posts will not show up in Blogger's reading list. In order to keep up with my new blog, you will need to use something like Bloglovin', Feedly, or another RSS reader. There will be a RSS subscribe button on the new website. If you use Bloglovin' or another reader that allows you to enter a specific blog address, this will be the address of my new blog - briankingimages.com/blogI will still be blogging like I do now and I will still be visiting your blogs. That isn't changing. I just won't be using the Blogger platform. It's really no different than the folks who use WordPress or some other platform. However you follow other people who don't use Blogger is the same way you'll be able to follow me. I stopped using Blogger's reading list a long time ago and have been using Bloglovin' to keep up with everyone. Before I stop using this blog I will be updating my Bloglovin' list to make sure I'm following all of my regulars.So here's the down and dirty in short form...

New website: www.briankingimages.com

New blog: www.briankingimages.com/blog

Posts on my new blog will not show up in Blogger's reading list

You can bookmark my new blog address, use Bloglovin', Feedly, or another RSS reader

This blog will still be here, but will revert to the original address of heybjk.blogspot.com

My intention is to move my domain name to the new website by mid-week at the latest. Since the technical stuff doesn't always go as planned, that's not a hard and fast timeline. I want to leave this up for a couple of days before I move the domain name so people can see it.I've enjoyed using Blogger for the past several years and I know there are aspects of the service I'll miss, but I need to have an actual photography website that allows me to do things I can't do here. I'm sure I'll lose some people and, while I hate for that to happen, this move is something I need to do. As I said, I will still be blogging and participating in link-ups just like I have been. I hope you'll still visit me even though I won't be part of the Blogger crew. If I've made anything confusing, feel free to email me, heybjk@gmail.com, and I'll try to clear it up.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The male cardinal was feeding this juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird. Female cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, thereby getting out of having to raise their own young.Linking to Saturday's Crittersand The Bird D'Pot